12/11/2025
π£ Exciting News for Iowa History & Genealogy Researchers! The State Historical Society of Iowa is proud to announce the continuation of our partnership with Ancestry.com (), expanding free public access (with no cost to taxpayers) to millions of newly digitized archival documents. π€ Over the next two years, SHSI and Ancestry will work together to digitally image and integrate more than one million additional records from the State Archives into Ancestryβs searchable database. π»π
These newly available collections include:
β’ Iowa vital records
β’ State-level military files, including Iowa National Guard enlistments and WWI & WWII casualty files
β’ Iowa State Prison records, including convict registers, Bertillon cards and mug shots
Together, these materials offer researchers, students, and genealogists unprecedented access to Iowaβs past. The SHSI x Ancestry.com collaboration helps further preserve Iowaβs rich history and make it accessible to people around the world who trace their family stories back to our state. π
π How to Access:
1) Iowans can explore these records for free using SHSIβs complimentary institutional Ancestry account at our Research Centers (https://history.iowa.gov/visit/research-centers)
2) Records are also available to Ancestry subscribers as newly digitized files are processed and released on a rolling basis.
π‘ Learn more and start exploring:
ancestryinstitution.com/ai/collections/ia/historicalsociety